Until only twenty years ago, Runeterra was on a collision course with disaster. As quickly as Runeterra’s denizens would band together in ancient times as tribes, opposing tribes would war to settle their disputes. No matter the era, the preferred choice of warfare has always been magical. Armies would be enhanced or decimated by spell and rune alike. Champions made the most of magical items forged for them as they led or supported armies. Summoners – often the de facto leaders of Valoran’s political forces – would unleash mighty magical powers directly against foes and their holdings with little regard for consequence. With such an abundance of raw magical power at their disposal, there was little motivation for summoners to explore more environmentally-friendly forms of warfare.

Within the last two hundred years, however, the dangers of unchecked magical warfare began to expose the fragility of Runeterra to everyone residing in Valoran. The last two Rune Wars drastically altered the geophysical landscape of Valoran, even after magical energy was focused on restoring it. Violent earthquakes and horrific magically-fueled storms made life on Valoran challenging, even before factoring in the horror of warfare on the populace. It was theorized that another unchecked Rune War would tear the world asunder.

As a direct response to the world’s growing physical and political instability, Valoran’s key magicians – including many powerful summoners – came to the conclusion that conflicts needed to be resolved in a controllable and systemic way. They formed an organization called the League of Legends, whose purpose was to oversee the orderly resolution of political conflict in Valoran. Housed in the Institute of War, the League would be given the authority by Valoran’s political entities to govern the outcomes of the organized conflict they would administer.

The League resolved that all major political conflict would be settled through the use of specially prepared arenas strategically located throughout Valoran. Summoners representing a particular political allegiance would each call forth a champion; the champions, leading mindless minions generated by novice summoners manipulating a nexus, would fight to achieve the objective of the arena they were in. The most common victory condition of a battle arena would be to destroy the opposing faction’s nexus. These arenas are collectively referred to as the Fields of Justice.

While all major political conflicts were being funneled through the League of Legends, physical conflicts between warring political entities were not completely eliminated. For example – the strategic choice of the League to build the Institute of War directly between the constantly warring city-states of Demacia and Noxus stopped almost all direct confrontation between them, though military skirmishes continue to break out. Instead, the warlike Noxian High Command has turned its ambitions of conquest offshore. Even still, all political entities abide by the governance of the League of Legends. No wise regent would be foolish enough to rail against a vast cabal of immensely powerful magicians, summoners, and champions.

The fights in the various Fields of Justice over which the League presides are not only of great political interest to Valoran, but also of great social interest. The League magically transmits the sights and sounds of the action as it unfolds to specially built arcane receivers located in key settlements throughout Valoran. Watching a fight in a Field of Justice is one of the more popular entertainment activities Valoran’s denizens engage in.

The League of Justice is supervised by a council of three powerful summoners, known as the High Council of Equity. Each summoner has been on the Council of Equity since the inception of the League of Legends except for its newest High Councilor, Heywan Relivash; High Councilor Relivash’s ascension took place five years ago after the mysterious disappearance of the previous High Councilor, Reginald Ashram. The Council of Equity is responsible not only for the leadership and guidance of the League, but also to act as the highest court of appeal for adjudication of Valoran’s political entities.

The structure of the League is focused around internal organizations that lead their various goals. Each city-state is assigned an Emissary of the League – a diplomat who serves as an on-location political representative to enact the will of the League. The Adjudicators are the arbiters assigned to a given match in the Fields of Justice. The Council is the body of high-ranking summoners which rules over political outcomes once a battle arena match has been resolved.

Along the western coast of Valoran, the human city-state of Demacia shines as the continent’s paragon of virtue amongst all the other human settlements. The people of Demacia are driven by their common cause to disseminate benevolence and justice for the betterment of all beings throughout Valoran. They view malice and selfishness as a disease which should be expunged from the psyche of humankind. Those who come to Demacia and choose to settle within the borders of the city-state are expected to share the ideals and virtues of its citizenry. Those who seek personal gain at the expense of others quickly find themselves ostracized… or worse.

Life in Demacia, however, isn’t one of placid utopian dreams. Since the Demacian people pride themselves as the moral vanguards of Valoran, they adopt seemingly draconian measures to ensure that their moral code remains the only code by which one may live within the city-state. Crime in any form is harshly punished; there are no misdemeanors within Demacia. Some detractors of Demacia (who criticize far from the reaches of the city-state) claim this as proof of its inherent hypocrisy. Demacians counter this argument by pointing out that their justice system incorporates benevolence and mitigation into its verdicts. No one is punished without fair and just consideration of the circumstances involved. While others may continue to criticize the harshness of Demacian law, the Demacians stand by their convictions.

Demacia is the only government in Valoran run by a constitutional monarchy, wherein the King of Demacia serves as the head of state and an elected council serves as the legislative body. While the king is a strong ruler, he is kept in check at least partially by the Demacian Council. The current King of Demacia, Jarvan III (a.k.a. Jarvan Lightshield the Third), works earnestly with the Demacian Council to ensure that the sanctity of the city-state remains pure and true. Since the rule of Jarvan I, there has never been an attempted coup or rebellion of any kind in Demacia. The king serves not only as the political leader of the city-state, but also as the commander-in-chief of its military.

The Demacian military is one of the strongest in all of Valoran, and until recently it was the only force capable of holding back the hunger of the military machine that is Noxus. Noxus has been the sworn enemy of Demacia since both settlements were founded hundreds of years ago. Their conflict is at the core a moral one, and with such a night-and-day division of moral philosophy amongst Demacia and Noxus, it is not hard to see why Demacia views its military requirements as a vital necessity to survival. Every Demacian citizen is required to serve in its military for no fewer than three years. Even after this time, most Demacians remain on active status in the city-state’s military reserve.

Demacia was one of the first supporters of the League of Legends, though its concerns were less for the planet’s stability and more to diminish the Noxian threat to Valoran. Demacia sent its best students of magic to the Institute of War, with some of them becoming master summoners. Demacia holds its own in the Fields of Justice, and this has subsequently eased the massive expenditure of resources otherwise needed to maintain its military force. The post-League Demacian military is as strong as ever, though it has shifted its focus from that of a standing invasion force, ready to re-conquest Noxian acquisitions, to that of an impenetrable bastion, secure and vigilant across its entire dominion.

Demacia is a shining beacon of hope for humanity, and as such the city is the visual representation of this concept. There is a clean and pristine feel and look to the city. Towering spires litter the skyline of Demacia. White stone and marble are the materials of choice in the construction of Demacian buildings. Majestic flags fly high along the parapets of the city. The city walls virtually gleam with power and nobility. The city itself sits next to a natural port, with the majority of the city resting on a plateau.

Located on the far central eastern part of the Valoranian continent, the human city-state of Noxus is in many ways the moral antithesis of Demacia; it is a settlement where the physically and mentally strong acquire power through any means necessary, regardless of the consequences to their fellow humans. The citizenry of Noxus generally stands behind this principle, regarding the qualities of benevolence and compassion as signs of weakness. Strength begets strength, at least as far as the humans of Noxus are concerned. This seeming cruelty, however, is not an indicator of chaos. As is naturally and necessarily the case with humankind, Noxus is an orderly city-state, where rules protect the citizenry from harm… at least from their peers. In Noxus, however, those with power are clearly protected by the law more than those without it.

The ruling political organization of Noxus is called the Noxian High Command, and it acts as the head of the military. In Noxus, the military controls every aspect of the political landscape; there is no separation between the warfare and politics. The eternally youthful-looking leader of the High Command, General Boram Darkwill, has ruled Noxus for countless years. General Darkwill has far exceeded his average lifespan as a human; it is rumored that he is kept alive through necromantic magic. Such a conclusion would seem to make sense, especially when considering that he has ruled the Noxian High Command since before the time of King Jarvan I of Demacia. His seemingly endless hunger for power and conquest has driven Noxus to be the nightmarish threat to its neighbors that it is today.

Where other human settlements tend to welcome non-humans into their midst, Noxians are decidedly xenophobic. Non-humans are, at best, made to feel unwelcome within the borders of this city-state. There are exceptions to this, but only after the non-humans in question have proven themselves to be either useful or feared (or both). Human visitors and emigrants to Noxus are made to feel only slightly better, again proving themselves only by either demonstrating competence or inspiring terror in their enemies.

Military service in Noxus is compulsory for a period of six years, with all of its citizens retained as active reservists until their golden years. The Noxian High Command reserves the right to draft any of its citizens, regardless of age, into military service in times of dire need. Active Noxian military personnel are afforded a higher level of citizenship in Noxian society, and it is not uncommon for most citizens to remain active in the military for ten or more years. There is seldom a lack of work in the Noxian military, even with the forced quasi-peace that exists between Noxus and their eternal rivals, the Demacians.

The Noxian High Command strategically elected not to oppose the formation of the League of Legends, and even went as far as to give tepid support for its activities. It was clear to Valoran’s power brokers that Noxus could read the writing on the wall; to oppose the League, especially with the vast majority of Valoran behind its formation, would have been tantamount to suicide. By supporting its formation, Noxus achieved two ends. First, Noxus would have some degree of forced peace between itself and Demacia. This would allow Noxus to focus its efforts on conquest elsewhere; its track record in this conquest since the formation of the League, however, has been considerably underwhelming. Second, Noxus would focus its considerable magic talent into the League, allowing for a potentially greater degree of success in conflicts against the Demacians. To date, the endless war with Demacia has been just that – endless. The Noxian conflict with Demacia has, for the most part, surrogated itself into the Fields of Justice for considerably less cost in material and manpower. While its mortal foe has been able to relax some, Noxus has been able to relax considerably more without the iron fist of Demacia looming overhead.

Noxus is a city that resembles its inhabitants – dark and sinister. The foundation of the city was built into a granite mountain, and a fair portion of the city lies underground. Structures are built on top of and into the mountain itself. A tremendous man-made moat, filled with a witches’ brew of foul and putrid liquids, circumnavigates the city; the moat serves as an excellent means of cutting off access to Noxus through but a few key points, all of which are heavily guarded. At the top of the granite mountain resides the headquarters of the Noxian High Command; the building itself vaguely resembles a human skull from a distance. Beyond the huge city walls lie those Noxian denizens too poor (or too lucky) to live inside.

The subterranean city level of Noxus is almost as large as the top level, with numerous shops, taverns, and residences comprising the seedy underbelly of the notorious city-state. Noxus contains the largest network of dungeons anywhere on Runeterra, with numerous Noxian nobles claiming ownership over the various labyrinthine passages and subterranean rooms.

The oldest and most venerated Field of Justice is known as Summoner’s Rift. The Rift is located in a remote forest between Freljord, the Serpentine River, and the Ironspine Mountains. The Summoner’s Rift is one of a few locations in Valoran where magical energy is at its greatest concentration, making it a highly sought after locale to pursue magical endeavors. Historically, the forest where the Rift resides was the site of several battles during Runeterra’s various Rune Wars. In modern times, this battleground is known as the ultimate proving ground for any aspiring summoner. The Rift is also the battleground where some of Valoran’s greatest political decisions have been made since the inception of the League of Legends.

The objective of Summoner’s Rift is extremely straightforward – destroy the enemy’s nexus. In order to do this, champions must traverse down one of three different paths in order to attack their enemy at the weakest points they can exploit. Each lane on the opposing team’s side is defended by numerous turrets; each turret grows in strength the closer it gets to their respective nexus, and each turret must be eliminated in order to gain access to that team’s main base. Cooperating with fellow summoners is an absolute requirement for success, as it is easy for a champion to find themselves ambushed by enemies in the lanes of the Rift.

The Field of Justice known as the Twisted Treeline is one of the League’s newest arenas, and as such, still quite the mystery to most of the League’s competitors. The arena itself is located north of the Ironspike Mountains in a large expanse of forest nestled between the city-state of Zaun and one of the major passes that connect Noxus with the northern reaches of Valoran. It is one of the few remaining forests near Zaun that has not been exploited for natural resources; a mere cursory glance at the geography of the arena quickly explains why. The misuse of magic – mainly from Zaun but also from the numerous battles fought here during the various Rune Wars – has warped the verdant environs of the Twisted Treeline into terrain with a bizarre, alien-like visage. The two nexuses that power the Twisted Treeline do more to try and maintain the physical stability of the region more than any other function they would normally perform.

Twisted Treeline map features faster paced 3v3 action due to its two lanes/ two forests layout. One lane is curvy, and the other is straight. The map also features several neutral monster camps, and plenty of opportunities for team fights due to the two large forests located on the map. The top forest is accessible only from the top lane, has high reward monsters, and is structured to increase random forest encounters. The lower forest narrows in the middle, allowing for increased ganking opportunities. Other features of Twisted Treeline include new Sigil monsters.

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